Chapter 185: The World of the Mind

Chapter One Hundred Eighty-Five
The World of the Mind

Waiting for cake? That really is an answer beyond my imagination… No, if I could guess a mental patient’s answer, would that not mean I am almost the same…

As the thought flashed through his mind, Klein maintained a leisurely smile and asked as if chatting with a friend, “Who is bringing you cake?”

Hood Eugen’s expression collapsed all at once. His face appeared even thinner and longer as he said mournfully, “No. No cake… No cake!”

“You stole my cake!”

His voice abruptly rose. His eyes opened wide, glaring furiously at Klein.

Before Klein could decide how to respond, Hood suddenly barked, “Woof!” Then he opened his mouth, revealing two rows of white teeth.

Immediately afterward, saliva dripping from the corners of his mouth, he leaped off the bed and took one step toward Klein. His hands reached forward, trying to grab Klein’s shoulders, pull the target close, and bite down hard.

Facing this sudden assault, Klein was slightly flustered, but he reacted in time. In an instant, he bent his knees and half crouched. At the same time, he twisted his waist sideways and raised his left arm.

Pfft!

His elbow struck Hood Eugen in the abdomen, making the other man’s eyes roll upward and causing even more saliva to flow from his mouth.

However, Hood Eugen’s movements did not stop. Taking advantage of the momentum, he toppled forward, spreading both arms wide as though intending to lock Klein in a crushing embrace.

Klein tilted his body and rolled sideways with a familiarity that made it seem as if he had practiced the movement hundreds of times.

With his right hand pressing against the floor, he backflipped to his feet, planning to shift from defense to offense and pounce forward to restrain the target.

But at that moment, he saw Hood Eugen standing there stupidly, his eyes unfocused, empty and blank.

…

Klein froze for a moment, then turned his head toward the corner. He saw Dunn Smith, dressed in a thin black windbreaker and black silk hat, with his hands tightly clasped and his head lowered.

The Captain pulled Hood Eugen into a dream…

Understanding dawned on him. He stopped his movement and seized the opportunity to draw out his ritual silver dagger, which was completely incapable of harming anyone. Using it, he created a wall of spirituality and sealed the single-person room.

Then Klein took out three candles mixed with mint and arranged them on the windowsill in an inverted triangle. One symbolized the Evernight Goddess, one symbolized the Mother of Concealment, and one represented himself.

Before long, he had finished setting up the simple altar and lit all the candles through spiritual friction.

Just as he was about to turn and remind the Captain, Dunn had already raised his head and laughed in a deep voice.

“Hood Eugen’s dream is a complete mess. There is no way to guide it.”

Before his voice had fully faded, the light returned to Hood Eugen’s eyes, and they were no longer empty.

Then the insane “Psychiatrist” tilted his upper body slightly back and yawned comfortably.

…

For a moment, Klein did not know what to say. So he said nothing. He picked up the metal vial containing Amantha hydrosol.

He dripped that transparent liquid distilled and extracted from night vanilla, deep sleep flower, and chamomile into the flame of the candle representing himself. A quiet, tranquil fragrance spread instantly, filling every corner of the room.

Hood Eugen’s tension, anger, and comfort all vanished. He lazily sat back at the edge of the bed, then blankly turned again toward the crimson moon outside the window, his gaze once more unfocused and peaceful.

Klein likewise felt the transcendence of deep silence in the dead of night. He set down the Amantha hydrosol and sat down beside Hood Eugen, intending to find something that would make the other party withdraw the last of his defenses.

Only then could he use the Eye of Spirit potion to let Hood Eugen’s spirit gradually enter a muddled state.

After all, I am only an unprofessional “Spirit Medium”…

Klein had already thought of a method in advance. From his pocket, he took out a deck of tarot cards.

This deck had only the twenty-two major arcana. For convenience in carrying, it was a “weapon” that Klein had successfully applied for.

Every card was inlaid with pure silver and other metal threads that could harm undead creatures. The patterns were intricate and ornate, making Klein want only to collect them, not use them against enemies.

Klein cut the deck with one hand and smiled at Hood Eugen.

“Let us play cards.”

“Play cards?”

Hood Eugen withdrew his gaze from outside the window and repeated the phrase blankly.

Klein did not answer. With goodwill that allowed no refusal, he stuffed the tarot deck into Hood’s hands.

Hood Eugen imitated the movement Klein had just made, cutting the cards awkwardly with one hand—and successfully completed it.

This mental patient among Beyonders slowly shifted his attention toward the cards in his hand, which had excellent stiffness, elasticity, and texture. Then he turned over the top card:

A man in tattered clothing had his hands bound and was hanging upside down. Above his head was a faint halo.

The Hanged Man…

Klein nodded thoughtfully. Seizing the opportunity, he stood, took the Eye of Spirit potion, and dripped that amber liquid into the candle flame—still the candle representing himself.

An ethereal, drifting scent of liquor spread outward. Merely smelling it made one feel drunk.

Hood Eugen’s expression slowly slackened. His gaze lost focus, and the tarot cards in his hands slid one after another onto the bed.

Yet he remained seated steadily and did not collapse.

Through meditation, Klein resisted the influence that made both his body and soul feel lighter, more drifting, more blurred. He took out another metal vial from his pocket, twisted off the stopper, and poured the eerie blue liquid inside into his mouth.

Tranquility Potion!

The icy liquid flowed through his mouth, slid down his throat, and entered his stomach. Klein instantly became exceptionally clear-headed, without the slightest trance remaining.

He slowly exhaled. Then, with practiced ease, he picked up the other essential oils, hydrosols, and herbal powders, dripping them into the two flames symbolizing the Evernight Goddess.

Amid faint mist, he retreated two steps and solemnly recited in Hermes:

“I pray for the power of night;

“I pray for the power of concealment;

“I pray for the Goddess’s favor.

“I pray that You allow me to communicate with Hood Eugen, with the spirituality of this Beyonder beside me.”

…

Line after line of incantation echoed. Klein saw blackness spread outward from the dark-dyed candle flames.

He did not dodge. He did not resist. He allowed this deep “night” to envelop him.

In a state of abnormal clarity, he felt his Spirit Body leave the protection of his flesh and enter a void like the depths of the cosmos. Around him was boundless, soundless, extreme darkness, while overhead, the sky was filled with transparent shadows whose shapes could not be described, and clear radiances of different colors, each containing countless pieces of knowledge.

The spirit world…

Klein was no longer unfamiliar with it.

The thought had just appeared when he saw a hazy world wrapped in a storm of faint light ahead.

Klein knew that this represented Hood Eugen’s spirit. It represented his Mind Body. Thus, he approached and drilled into the “storm” serving as a wall.

In an instant, he saw countless specks of light slap against his body. He heard whispers like several thousand, several tens of thousands, several hundreds of thousands of people discussing something at the same time.

Those ravings were extremely chaotic, without any logic at all. One moment they praised a woman’s elegance. The next, they described the relief after finishing on the toilet. One moment they cried; the next, they began to revel…

The mad storm of thoughts “tore and gnawed” at Klein’s spirit, trying to assimilate him. But Klein maintained absolute clarity and rationality, flying rapidly toward the depths of Hood Eugen’s “mind world.”

Compared to the terrifying ravings and horrible shrieks before I enter the mysterious space above the gray fog, this is practically a beautiful concert…

Klein laughed inwardly. He pierced through the storm and saw Hood Eugen, muddled, transparent, and blurry.

This Sequence 7 Psychiatrist retained his external appearance. His eyes looked over woodenly.

Klein stopped before him and asked in a low voice, “Do you know Lanevus?”

Hood Eugen answered blankly, “Yes.”

The surrounding light and shadow changed with the answer, as though Hood Eugen’s “sea of mind” had opened and revealed itself.

Very soon, the interwoven light and shadow sketched a young man with ordinary features, a full forehead, round glasses, black hair, brown eyes, and a mocking smile often hanging at the corners of his lips. It was exactly the Lanevus Klein had seen on the wanted poster.

Klein nodded in satisfaction, steadied his emotions, and asked in a guiding tone, “Why did Lanevus come looking for you?”

“He said…”

Hood Eugen’s voice gradually lowered.

Suddenly, he changed into a magnetic voice and laughed with faint madness.

“Hood Eugen, this is the worst age, and also the best age. As long as we grasp the opportunity, we too can become rulers of the world—true immortals!”

“So long as you provide help, I will not only tell you the method to master the power of potions and avoid losing control, but also promise that in the future, I will let you obtain a little divinity—immortal divinity!”

“You should be able to see which existence stands behind me. My promise is His promise. And the Psychology Alchemists, in a certain sense, have a certain relationship with Him as well.”

“Do not doubt it. The Psychology Alchemists are still not strong enough right now and cannot provide you with sufficient help—unless you are willing to remain forever at your current level.”

The method to master the power of potions and avoid losing control… Why does this feel like the way I use the acting method to tempt others… Lanevus truly has lofty ambitions. He is clearly only Sequence 8, yet he is already worrying about divinity… Which hidden existence stands behind him exactly? This fellow seems to be plotting something—not merely defrauding money… Or rather, defrauding money is only his hobby?

A flurry of thoughts rose in Klein’s mind. Seeing Hood Eugen stop narrating, he hurriedly asked, “What kind of help did Lanevus want you to provide?”

Hood Eugen did not answer immediately. The entire “mind world” quieted.

Immediately afterward, he laughed loudly and answered in utter chaos:

“Help… help… help!

“Hahaha, I provided help! I provided help!

“I let…”

At that moment, his words came to an abrupt stop. His entire blurry Spirit Body bent over, while the light and shadow symbolizing the “sea of mind” around them changed rapidly, condensing into a gloomy, terrifying, dark altar.

Upon the altar stood a cross. On that cross, something seemed to hang upside down, while indistinct things were piled at the base.

The light and shadow writhed. The inverted hanging thing was about to become clear. Suddenly, the entire “mind world” shook as though struck by a magnitude-ten earthquake.

Holy crap!

Klein instantly sensed the danger that was about to erupt. Without thinking, he turned and flew into the chaotic storm of thoughts, trying to flee.